I use brim all the time on just about everything I print. First of all I want to mention here that Brim and skirt have NOTHING to do with Repetier, they're functions of the slicing engine. IN this case they're functions of either Slic3r or Cura,
In slicer, if you select a brim value, you should disable the skirt by putting a value of 0 in the skirt loops. The distance fro object value only applies to the skirt. It will have no effect on the brim.
This brings us to Cura. The latest versions of Repetier now include Cura, The Cura engine has a selectable option under "Adhesion Type" where one can select either skirt or brim. The Cura brim doesn't always touch the object all the way around. Sometimes, it only touches the corners and the res of it is offset by a millimeter or so. Nevertheless, it's still effective.
So is it possible that the user may be slicing with Cura instead of Slic3r ?
To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods, Printrbot Simple Maker Ed., FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.